COLUMBIA  LIBRARIES  OFFSITE 

AVERY  FINE  ARTS  RESTRICTED 

AR01413090 


Avery  Architectural  and  Fine  Arts  Library 
Gift  of  Seymour  B.  Durst  Old  York  Library 


IEx  ICibrts 


SEYMOUR  DURST 


'Tort  nie4tv  <Am/lt.rcUm,  oj>  Je  I/Latthatarus 


"When  you  leave,  please  leave  this  book 

Because  it  has  been  said 
"Sver'thing  comes  t'  him  who  waits 

Except  a  loaned  book." 


Poor  Crtmtj). 


THE  REPORT 


Committee  on  the  Condition  of  the  Finances 


OF 


TRINITY  CHURCH, 


EXAMINED  BY 


JOHN  H.  HOPKINS,  Jr.,  M.  A., 

DEACON. 


"For  all  practical  purposes,  the  question  is,  What  is  the  "present  value  of  the 
property  to  the^  Corporation  ?  and  all  our  financial  measures  should  be  controlled  by 
it." — The  "Report  of  a  Committee  on  the  Condition  of  the  Finances  of  Trinity 
Church." 


NE  W-YORK 


18  5  9. 


775" 


• 


During  the  Trinity  campaign  in  1856,  one  of  the  telling 
points  on  the  part  of  her  opponents,  was  the  fact  that  the  Ves- 
try makes  no  report  of  the  state  of  the  temporalities  of  that 
venerable  and  wealthy  Corporation,  to  any  body  in  the  world  ; 
and  that  the  annual  report,  made  by  the  Finance  Committee 
to  the  Vestry  itself,  was  never  printed.  No  information  has 
reached  the  public  heretofore,  (except  such  few  items  as  may 
be  gleaned  from  Dr.  Berrian's  valuable  history  of  Trinity 
Church),  unless  through  the  round-about,  dubious,  and  disa- 
greeable means  of  an  inquiry  by  one  or  other  branch  of  the 
State  Legislature.  And  even  the  reports  of  these  Committees 
of  Inquiry,  when  really  embodying  such  information,  are  not 
easily  accessible, 

On  concluding  its  examination,  the  Senate  Committee  re- 
ported two  proposed  amendments  of  the  law  of  1814,  the 
latter  of  which — no  matter  what  may  be  said  of  the  former — 
was  devoted  wholly  to  the  obtaining  of  something  like  regular 
information  from  the  Vestry,  to  its  own  corporators,  in  regard 
to  the  state  of  the  temporalities.    It  ran  thus  : 

The  Vestry  of  Trinity  Church  shall  once  in  every  year,  on  the  first 
day  of  February,  furnish  to  their  corporators  a  printed  statement  of  the 
affairs  of  the  Corporation,  including  the  details  of  annual  income  and  ex- 
penditure, specifying  what  lots  have  been  re-let,  or  sold,  and  for  what 
amounts,  and  how  many  remain  ;  what  grants,  loans,  or  stipends  have 
been  made,  and  to  whom  ;  what  bonds  and  mortgages  are  held,  of  every 
sort ;  with  the  estimated  change  in  the  gross  value  of  the  Corporation  es- 
tate, if  any  ;  and  appending,  also,  the  full  and  correct  list  of  all  the  corpo- 
rators who  will  be  entitled  to  vote  at  the  Easter  election,  then  next  ensu- 
ing. 


4 


It  will  be  remembered  that,  in  the  pressure  of  the  contest, 
appeals  were  made  on  Sunday,  during  time  of  divine  worship, 
in  Trinity  and  her  chapels,  to  her  people,  to  come  up  near  the 
chancel  rail  after  service  was  over,  and  sign  memorials  to  the 
Legislature  against  the  proposed  "  outrage"  of  enlarging  the 
present  constituency.  But  so  keenly  was  the  justice  of  that 
complaint  about  want  of  information  felt,  that  at  the  same  time, 
and  in  Church,  on  the  Lord's  day,  it  was  expressly  added  by 
the  clergyman  giving  the  notice,  that  no  objection  was  made  to 
the  other  proposed  amendment,  (the  one  given  above)  providing 
for  a  full  annual  Report  from  the  Vestry  to  its  constituents. 

Great  bodies  move  slowly.  But  now,  at  length,  after  the 
lapse  of  a  little  more  than  three  years,  Trinity  redeems  the 
honesty  of  the  statement  then  first  made  ;  and,  of  her  own  free 
voluntary  act  and  deed,  without  compulsion  from  any  court 
or  legislature,  and  without  even  a  formal  request  from  her 
own  constituents,  she  presents,  not  only  to  them,  but  to  the 
public  at  large,  this  carefully  prepared  and  elaborate  Report 
on  the  financial  condition  of  the  Corporation — a  Report  drawn 
up,  it  is  understood,  by  the  Hon.  John  A.  Dix,  the  Chairman 
of  the  Special  Committee  on  the  subject,  and  signed,  also,  by 
his  able  and  eminent  colleagues,  F.  R.  Tillou,  Esq.,  Mr.  Cyrus 
Curtiss,  Mr.  Samuel  T.  Skidmore,  Gouverneur  M.  Ogden,  Esq., 
and  the  Hon.  Gulian  C.  Verplanck.  The  time  at  which  it  is 
issued,  too,  corresponds  as  closely  as  possible  with  the  proposed 
amendment  of  the  law  of  1 8 14.  That  required  the  Report  to 
be  made  on  the  1st  of  February  ;  and  the  present  Report  is  dated 
in  "  January  f  though  there  has  naturally  been  a  little  delay  in 
issuing  it.  This  strengthens  the  impression,  apparently  in- 
tended to  be  conveyed,  that  Trinity  will  act,  hereafter,  ac- 
cording to  the  spirit,  at  least,  of  the  proposed  amendment, 
and  publish  from  time  to  time  such  statements  as  shall  keep 
her  own  constituents,  and  other  people  too,  correctly  and 
sufficiently  informed  of  the  affairs  of  the  Corporation. 

This  is  indeed  a  new  thing;  but  it  will  be  received  with 
universal  thankfulness,  in  the  parish  and  out  of  it.  And  as 
each  year  rolls  round,  and  January  comes,  the  annual  Report 
of  Trinity  as  to  the  condition  of  the  Corporation  purse,  will 


5 


be  looked  for  as  regularly  as  that  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  at  Washington,  on  the  assembling  of  Congress,  as 
to  the  state  of  the  national  exchequer. 

It  is  because  the  work  is  as  yet  a  new  one,  we  suppose,  that 
inaccuracies  have  occurred;  which,  with  each  successive  year, 
it  is  to  be  hoped,  will  grow  less  and  less,  until  they  finally  dis- 
appear. But  it,  is  a  joyful  thing  to  see  that  the  new  policy  of 
giving  information,  instead  of  withholding  it,  is  actually  begun. 

And  yet,  while  rejoicing  over  this  change  for  the  better,  the 
friends  of  the  Corporation  must  be  deeply  grieved  to  learn  the 
unhappy  condition  of  the  finances,  which  popular  opinion  has 
hitherto  regarded  as  steadily  and  rapidly  improving.  On  this 
subject  the  language  of  the  Report  is  startling  in  the  force  of 
its  words,  and  the  intense  earnestness  of  the  tone  in  which 
"  a  change  of  policy"  is  urged.  On  this,  the  one  salient  fea- 
ture of  the  document  before  us, — which  comes  upon  us  like  a 
fatal  "  check  by  discovery,"  being,  in  fact,  the  sadly  sober  gist 
of  the  whole  affair, — let  us  give  the  Report  ample  opportunity 
to  speak  for  itself.    It  says  : — . 

As  the  means  of  the  Corporation  have  become  so  greatly  impaired, 
and  its  liabilities  increased  to  so  alarming  an  extent,  by  its  liberality  to 
other  religious  and  charitable  institutions,  as  to  render  it  unable  to  provide 
for  the  support  of  Trinity  Parish  from  its  annual  revenues,  they  would 
suggest  whether  further  contributions  to  any  other  than  its  own  pressing 
parochial  wants,  while  this  state  of  things  continues,  would  not  constitute 
a  clear  and  undeniable  breach  of  duty. — P.  2. 

Again,  after  stating  that  there  is  an  annual  deficit,  the 
Report  adds  :  — 

The  Corporation  is,  on  the  one  hand,  increasing  its  debt,  and,  on  the 
other,  consuming  the  means  on  which  it  depends  for  the  ultimate  payment 
of  the  debt,  and  the  future  maintenance  of  the  parish.  Such  a  policy  is 
not  only  at  war  with  all  financial  prudence,  but  it  is  a  process  of  con- 
sumption, no  matter  how  large  the  resources  it  is  applied  to,  which  must 
necessarily  be  a  very  short  one.  *  *  *  Without  an  immediate  and 
complete  change  of  policy  in  regard  to  expenditure,  it  will,  in  a  very  few 
years,  become  a  question  whether,  after  discharging  the  debt  of  the  Cor- 
poration, there  will  be  property  enough  left  to  support  the  parish  and  keep 
up  its  religious  services  on  the  present  scale.  The  imminency  of  this 
danger  will  become  more  apparent  when  the  magnitude  and  inevitable 
growth  of  the  debt  of  the  Corporation  are  considered  in  connection  with 
the  regular  and  progressive  consumption  of  its  property. — Pp.  4-6. 


6 


In  the  present  condition  of  the  finances  of  the  Corporation,  the  Com- 
mittee are  of  opinion  that  no  new  donations  should  be  made,  and  that  such 
customary  contributions  as  are  not  accompanied  by  a  pledge,  expressed 
or  implied,  extending  beyond  the  present  fiscal  year,  should  be  discontin- 
ued or  reduced  after  its  termination,  until  the  Corporation  shall  be  freed 
from  embarrassment.  This  measure  is,  in  truth,  not  a  matter  of  choice 
It  is  a  matter  of  absolute  necessity.  The  Corporation,  earnest  as  the 
desire  is  of  the  Vestry  to  continue  them,  has  not  the  means.  In  the  pres- 
ent condition  of  the  money  affairs  of  the  country,  it  could  not  sell  property  if 
it  were  disencumbered  of  leases,  without  the  most  ruinous  sacrifices.  To 
incur  further  debt,except  to  meet  its  positive  engagements,  would  be  the  very 
height  of  improvidence.  It  is  not  believed  that  a  single  disinterested 
person  in  the  community  would  expect  Trinity  Church,  in  the  present  con- 
dition of  her  finances,  to  make  contributions  to  other  parishes.  Nor  is  it 
reasonable  to  believe  that  those  who  are  now  the  recipients  of  her  bounty, 
would  expect  or  desire  the  Corporation  to  continue  its  assistance  when  it 
has  not  the  means  of  paying  its  own  expenses.  *  *  *  *  * 
It  is  oppressed  with  an  enormous  burden  of  debt ;  its  income  falls  to  an  alarm- 
ing extent  below  the  standard  of  its  necessary  expenditures. — Pp.  15 — 16. 

The  Committee  would  be  unfaithful  to  the  duty  confided  to  them,  if  they 
were  to  withhold  from  the  Vestry  the  expression  of  their  opinion,  that  the 
pecuniary  affairs  of  the  Corporation  are  in  imminent  peril,  and  that  the 
most  disastrous  consequences  can  only  be  averted  by  the  prompt  and  radi- 
cal change  they  have  recommended  in  the  policy  of  expenditure  which  has 
been  followed  for  the  last  ten  years. — P.  21. 

It  is  a  pity  to  weary  the  reader  with  so  much  of  repetition  ; 
but  really  it  was  impossible  in  any  other  way  to  give  an  idea 
of  the  prominence  with  which  this  idea  is  repeated  again  and 
again,  at  every  turn  throughout  the  whole  Report.  The  "  imme- 
diate" and  "alarming  peril  "  from  the  "  enormous  debt,"  and  the 
"  absolute  necessity"  of  a  "  prompt  and  radical  change"  in  the 
"  policy"  of  the  parish,  retrenching  and  curtailing  in  all  pos- 
sible ways  until  the  debt  be  first  paid  :  or  else  the  road  will 
be  "  very  short"  to  a  {i  consumption  of  the  property,"  so 
that  not  enough  will  be  left,  even  to  carry  on  the  present 
operations  of  the  parish : — who  can  refuse  to  weep  over  such 
imminency  of  ruin  to  such  a  noble  property,  and  all,  too,  from 
her  too  great  generosity  and  "bounty"  to  "  other  parishes  !" 
uHow  are  the  mighty  fallen!" 

Now,  really,  there  is  cause  to  fear  that  the  credit  of  the 
Corporation  will  be  terribly  shaken  in  Wall-street  by  this 


7 


awkward  expose.  Do  the  best  they  can,  the  Report  shows  that 
they  must  borrow,  or  sell  lots,  to  fill  up  an  annual  deficit  of 
some  $50,000,  for  two  or  three  years  to  come  ;  and,  if  this  un- 
lucky Report  should  get  abroad,  who  will  be  willing  to  lend 
the  money  to  a  Corporation  which  has  been  so  recklessly  prodi- 
gal, and  whose  "  pecuniary  affairs  are  now  in  imminent  peril  V 
Out  of  kindness  for  the  credit  of  the  Vestry,  therefore,  as  well 
as  in  the  interest  of  the  Church  generally,  we  have  been  at 
great  pains  to  examine  into  the  matter,  being  confident  that 
there  must  really  be  some  mistake  about  it,  somewhere.  It 
has  cost  us  an  unwonted  deal  of  cyphering  ;  but  the  Corpora- 
tion are  welcome  to  the  fruit  of  our  labors,  if  it  will  only  re- 
lieve them  from  their  present  severe  "embarrassment.'' 

We  would  premise,  however,  that  we  shall  not  criticise  all 
the  points  that  seem  to  us  to  be  open  to  fair  remark.  The 
Report  is  full  of  them  ;  but  we  shall  not  enlarge  upon  the  fact, 
that  the  Cemetery  is  on  one  page  (3)  said  to  be  a  source  of  in- 
come, and  on  another  (15)  a  cause  of  expense  ;  that  on  page 
11,  the  u  whole  number  of  lots  belonging  to  the  Corporation" 
is  789,  while  on  page  13,  it  appears  that  26  of  them  have  since 
been  sold  ;  that  in  several  places  the  only  true  course  is  said 
to  be  to  sell  real  estate  enough  to  pay  off  the  debt,  and  in 
another  the  "  selling  and  consuming  the  property  "  is  declared 
to  be  "  worse  "  than  "  actually  augmenting  the  debt  in  a  com- 
pound ratio."  Our  object  is  not  simply  to  criticise  ;  therefore 
we  pass  by  these  smaller  matters,  confining  our  attention  only 
to  those  points  which  are  of  main  importance. 

INCOME. 

To  get  a  fair  view  of  the  rapid  deterioration  of  the  parish, 
in  point  of  income,  we  ought  to  go  back  a  little  further  than 
is  done  in  this  Keport.  Dr.  Berrian,  in  1847,  twelve  years 
ago,  tells  us  that  the  income  had  then  never  exceeded 
$57,932  37  a  year.  Seven  years  after  that,  in  1854,  it  was 
reported  by  the  Corporation  to  the  House  of  Assembly,  at 
880,967  70.  The  following  year,  1855,  Dr.  Berrian  informs 
us  that  it  was  $89,486  54.  One  year  after  that,  we  learn  from 
the  evidence  before  the  Senate  Committee,  that  it  was 
$96,428  32.    And  finally  the  Report  itself  gives  the  amount 


8 


for  1857,  as  $102,294  35  ;  for  1858,  as  $115,845  66  ;  and  for 
1859,  as  "  stated  by  the  Comptroller,"  at  $126,750  35. 
Moreover,  the  Report  estimates  that  there  will  be  further  addi- 
tions to  the  rent  roll  before  1862,  amounting  to  $8,810  a  year. 
To  the  sum  for  the  current  year,  by  the  way,  "  are  to  be  added 
the  rents,  when  adjusted,  of  four  lots  " — how  much  we  do  not 
know.  The  Committee  think  that  some  few  thousands  of  "  ar- 
rearages," ought  to  be  "  excluded"  from  the  above  income  for 
1859  ;  but  why,  is  not  so  clear.  They  certainly  were  not  reck- 
oned in  the  years  when  they  were  not  paid  ;  and  if  they  are 
not  credited  to  the  year  when  they  are  paid,  what  is  to  be 
done  with  them  ?    Drop  them  out  altogether  ? 

On  the  whole,  however,  having  seen  the  income  steadily 
and  gradually  mount  up  in  twelve  years,  from  $57,932  37 
to  $126,750  35,  and  good  prospects  of  additional  items  and 
further  rise  of  at  least  $8,810  in  three  years,  we  can  fully  ap- 
preciate the  modesty  of  the  Committee  in  "thinking  it  entirely 
safe  to  estimate  it  at  $110,000,  for  the  current  year."  We 
cannot  help  asking,  however,  whether  it  is  "entirely  safe"  to 
presume  that  the  Comptroller  is  more  than  816,000  out  of  the 
way  in  his  statement  of  the  "rent  roll"  for  the  "current 
year  V*  And  also,  if  the  income  is  deteriorating  at  this  u  alarm- 
ing "  rate,  how  long  will  it  be  before  it  falls  to  some  $200,000 
a  year  ? 

THE  DEBT. 

The  "enormous  burden  of  debt,"  now  amounting  to  $709,- 
938,  is  the  incubus  which  presses  so  crushingly  upon  the  ener- 
gies of  the  venerable  Corporation,  and  makes  it  a  matter  of 
"absolute  necessity"  to  stop,  as  far  as  possible,  for  an  indefi- 
nite time  to  come,  her  aid  to  other  parishes.  Let  us  see 
whether  its  accumulation  has  been  as  <:  rapid"  and"  alarming" 
as  the  falling  off  in  the  income.  Of  the  above  amount,  $4,025 
have  actually  been  added  during  the  past  year  ! 

Once  more  let  us  glance  back  for  twelve  years,  and  trace  the 
growth  from  thence.  We  select  that  time,  because  it  is  as  far 
back  as  we  can  go,  no  such  statistics  having  been  published  of 
earlier  date,  that  we  know  of.  Another  and  more  powerful 
reason  is,  that  the  Committee  desire  to  change  only  "  the  pol- 


9 


icy  of  expenditure  which  has  been  followed  for  the  last  ten 
years"  If  we  go  back  twelve  years,  therefore,  we  are  sure  of 
reaching  a  u  policy ?'  which  has  not  been  condemned  as  unsound 
and  destructive,  but  may,  for  purposes  of  comparison,  be  safely 
regarded  as  "  all  right."    The  debt  then,  was, 

In  1847   $440,000 

"  1854   572,487 

«  1855   048,913 

«  1858   709,938 

So  much  for  the  absolute  amount,  which  has  certainly  grown 
to  a  respectable  size.  But  the  real  "  enormity"  of  a  debt  is  a 
different  thing.  A  debt  which  would  be  "  enormous'' for  a  pri- 
vate man,  is  a  trifle  for  the  General  Government.  Before  we 
can  judge  correctly  of  the  growth  of  the  debt,  therefore,  we 
must  compare  it  with  two  other  things  ;  one  is,  the  value  of 
the  whole  estate,  and  the  other  is,  the  improvement  in  the  an- 
nual income. 

And  first,  let  us  compare  it  with  the  income,  which,  as  we 
have  seen,  rose  in  twelve  years  from  $57,932  37,  to  $126,- 
750  35, — more  than  double.  The  debt,  during  the  same  twelve 
years,  has  grown  from  $440,000  to  $709,938 — an  increase  of 
only  $209,938.  If  the  debt  had  increased  only  at  the  same 
rate  with  the  income,  it  would  have  been  by  this  time  $962,- 
680.  This  shows  that,  as  compared  with  the  actual  growth  of 
income,  this  "  alarming''  and  "  rapid''  increase  of  debt,,  leaves 
the  Corporation  belter  of,  by  $252,742,  than  they  were  in  1847  ; 
and,  instead  of  its  being  "  the  height  of  improvidence  to  incur 
further  debt,"  as  the  Committee  think,  the  Vestry  might  act- 
ually, to-day,  add  a  quarter  of  a  million  of  dollars  more  to  their 
debt,  without  being  a  penny  poorer  than  they  were  twelve  years  a°o* 

But  this  statement  of  the  present  debt  at  so  high  a  figure  as 
$709,938,  is  not  quite  correct.  The  Committee  inform  us 
that  several  sums,  in  all  $61,500,  need  never  be  paid, 
amounting  only  to  a  perpetual  guarantee  of  interest.  So  long 
as  they  are  provided  for  in  the  annual  estimates,  therefore, 
they  need  not  be  reckoned  as  a  part  of  the  debt.  But  the  care- 
ful Committee  is  not  content  until  it  has  included  them  in  both 
places,  and  that  although  the  said  amount  of  $61,500  has  never 


10 


been  borrowed  from  anybody,  never  paid  to  anybody,  and  is 
never  to  be  due  to  anybody.  That  amount  should,  therefore, 
be  deducted,  in  estimating  the  weight  of  the  "  enormous  bur- 
den.'' 

But  this  is  by  no  means  all.  ^The  Corporation  now  holds 
available  bonds  and  mortgages  in  its  possession,  exclusive  of 
those  given  by  Churches,  amounting  to  $207,069  41.  These 
are  real,  live  bonds  and  mortgages,  as  completely  disposable 
as  so  much  cash.  They  might  be  applied  afonce  to  the  pay- 
ment of  the  debt.  And  if  the  "  speedy  payment  of  the  debt" 
be  (i  enjoined  by  every  consideration  of  duty,"  as  the  Commit- 
tee tell  us,  we  cannot  conceive  why  this  is  not  done,  unless 
that  it  would  lower  too  palpably  the  apparent  size  of  the 
"  enormous  burden  ;"  for  these  mortgages,  with  the  deduction 
of  the  $61,500  last  mentioned,  would  reduce  it  down  to  $440,- 
768  56 — almost  the  identical  amount  of  that  same  debl  twelve 
years  ago  !  The  "  rapid  and  alarming  accumulation"  of  the 
debt,  therefore,  turns  out  to  be  an  increase  of  less  than  eight 
hundred  dollars  in  twelve  years  ;  while  the  annual  income  has 
increased  by  nearly  seventy  thousand  dollars  in  the  same 
time.  This,  too,  is  all  based  upon  the  simple  actual  increase  of 
income;  and  is  equally  true,  therefore,  even  if  we  suppose  that 
the  great  estate  of  the  Corporation  has  not  risen  in  value  at 
all,  from  that  time  to  this.  Who  can  wonder,  then,  .hat  "  the 
magnitude  and  inevitable  growth  of  the  debt"  has  so  suddenly 
"  alarmed"  the  Committee  ?  Is  it  not  evident  "  that  the  pecu- 
niary affairs  of  the  Corporation  are  in  imminent  peril  ?" 

But  we  cannot  leave  this  subject  of  the  debt,  without  quot- 
ing, in  order  to  explain  it,  the  most  significant  paragraph  in 
the  whole  Report: — 

It  has  been  thought  by  members  of  the  Vestry  that  a  permanent  debt, 
to  a  reasonable  amount,  was  advisable  as  a  matter  of  policy,  for  an  institu- 
ion  having  so  large  a  property  as  Trinity  Church — that  it  would  afford  a 
proper  ground  for  declining  importunate  applications  for  aid,  and  make  its 
property  less  an  object  of  cupidity  on  the  part  of  speculators.  But  it  has 
failed  as  a  measure  of  restraint  in  both  respects.  The  debt  has  never 
been  so  large  as  curing  the  last  two  years  ;  and  there  never  has  been  a 
period  in  the  history  of  the  Corporation,  when  applications  for  external  aid 
were  so  numerous  and  pressing,  or  when  attempts  so  fierce  and  persevering 


11 


have  been  made  to  despoil  the  Church  of  its  property.  The  conclusion 
may  be  fairly  drawn  from  the  experience  of  the  last  five  years,  that  a  re- 
ligious society,  having  no  money-transactions  excepting  such  as  are  indis- 
pensable to  the  maintenance  of  its  religious  services  and  to  the  distribution 
of  its  charities,  would  be  far  more  likely  to  command  the  public  respect 
and  confidence,  and  restrain  unlicensed  attempts  to  get  possession  of  its 
property,  than  one  which,  from  the  magnitude  of  its  pecuniary  liabilities,  is 
often  and  of  necessity  in  the  market  as  a  borrower,  and  may  thus  impair 
to  some  extent,  in  the  eyes  of  the  community,  the  sanctity  of  its  vocation 
and  character.  Under  any  view  of  the  subject,  the  Committee  are  of 
opinion  that  the  debt  should  be  paid  as  soon  as  the  necessary  means  can  be 
obtained  by  the  sale  of  real  estate. — P.  10. 

Here  we  have  an  open  avowal  of  the  object  of  the  "  debt 
policy."    The  debt  was  intended  to  act  as  a  thick  shield,  to 
ward  off  "  importunate  applications  for  aid,"  and  foil  the  "  cu- 
pidity" of  "  speculators."     We  have  always  been  of  that 
opinion  ourselves,  and  have  often  charged  it  upon  the  Cor- 
poration as  the  intent  of  that  policy.    But  it  has  always,  here- 
tofore, been  denied.    And  what  is  the  motive  for  avowing  it 
now  ?    It  is  only  because  experience  has  proved  that  the  debt 
policy  is  not  an  effectual  shield.    "The  debt  has  never  been 
so  large  as  during  the  past  two  years  ;  and  there  never  has 
been  a  period  in  the  history  of  the  Corporation,  when  applica- 
tions for   external  aid    were    so   numerous  and  pressing." 
The  debt  policy  "has  failed"  to  keep  off  the  "applications." 
The  Church  public  was  too  shrewd  to  be  deluded  by  all  this 
talk  about  the  "enormous  burden."    Hence  the  need  of  a 
change  in  the  policy.    If  the  creation  of  the  debt  will  not  keep 
them  off,  let  us  see  if  the  desirable  object  cannot  be  secured 
by  urging  the  "absolute  necessity"  for  the  "prompt  payment" 
of  the  debt.    "The  actual  payment  must  be  a  work  of  time" 
says  the  Report  in  one  place  :  "  a  few  years,"  at  the  least,  is 
the  phrase  in  another  place.    And  until  that  time,  "  the  Com- 
mittee are  of  opinion  that  no  new  donations  should  be  made  ;" 
and  they  "  find  it  necessary  to  recommend  the  discontinuance 
or  reduction  of  the  annual  allowances  heretofore  made  to  cer- 
tain Churches  which  are  pre-eminently  worthy  of  the  liberality 
of  all  who  have  anything  to  give." 

But  the  new  "policy"  includes  something  besides  the  mere 


12 


payment  of  the  debt.  It  includes  also  the  setting  opart  an  im- 
mense portion  of  the  estate  for  the  use  of  that  particular  parish 
first,  before  Trinity  is  ready  to  resume  her  old  habit  of  con- 
tributing for  the  benefit  of  others.    The  Committee  say  : — 

i  When  her  debt  shall  be  paid,  when  her  property  shall  become  availa- 
ble, and  when  she  shall  have  set  apart  a  sufficient  amount  to  meet  her  own 
necessities,  the  Committee  are  of  opinion  that  she  should  resume  her 
course  of  active  beneficence,  and  distribute  for  pious  and  charitable  uses, 
and  for  the  extension  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  all  her  surplus,  if  she  shull 
have  any. — P.  17. 

The  same  idea  is  repeated  in  another  place  :— - 

By  discontinuing  donations  to  other  parishes,  by  economizing  her  own 
expenditures,  and  above  all,  by  preventing  any  further  increase  of  debt, 
except  so  far  as  it  may  be  necessary  to  save  her  credit,  she  may,  in  a  few 
years,  be  able  to  set  apart  a  sufficient  fund  to  provide  for  all  her  own 
wants,  and,  if  no  unfavorable  change  shall  take  place  in  the  progress  of  the 
city  in  prosperity  and  wealth,  she  may  again  be  able  to  contribute  liberally 
of  her  abundance  to  the  necessities  of  others. — P.  22. 

Some  little  curiosity  may  be  felt  to  know  how  much  will  be 
needed  to  "provide  for  all  her  own  wants,"  in  addition  to  the 
paying  of  that  enormous  debt,  which  will  take  "  a  few  years  " 
at  any  rate.  The  Committee  give  the  desired  information,  after 
first  making  their  estimate  of  the  total  net  value  of  the  Corpo- 
ration property  at  the  present  day  : — 

Assuming  this  estimate  to  be  a  fair  one,  and  taking  the  sum  of 
$2,856,230  as  the  present  net  value  of  the  property  of  the  Corporation,  It  is 
scarcely  equal  to  the  smallest  amount,  which,  as  the  Committee  propose 
to  show,  will  yield  a  revenue  sufficient  to  enable  the  Corporation  to  fulfil 
the  obligations  resting  on  it  in  its  peculiar  position. — P.  14 

This  is  substantially  telling  all  outsiders  :  "  We  must  first 
pay  the  enormous  debt;  then  appropriate  the  total  present  net 
value  of  the  corporation  property  for  our  own  use,  as  the  '  small- 
est amount '  we  can  get  along  with,  besides  probably  other 
sums  to  enable  us  '  to  keep  pace  with  the  advancing  wants  of 
the  parish  ;'  and  until  all  this  is  accomplished  we  have  nothing 
at  ali  for  anybody  else.  We  say  this  '  with  the  deepest  regret, 
but  it  is  a  matter  of  '  absolute  necessity.'  " 

If  this  new  "  policy  "  does  not  keep  off  the  t!  importunate 
applications,"  it  is  much  to  be  feared  that  nothing  will. 


13 


VALUE   OF  THE   PROPERTY  OF   THE  CORPORATION. 

Thus  far  we  have  examined  only  the  annua]  income  and  the 
debt,  and  we  have  found  that  the  "means  of  the  Corporation  have 
become  so  greatly  impaired,"  that  the  revenue  is  more  than 
double  what  it  was  in  1S47;  and  "  its  liabilities  have  in- 
creased to  so  alarming  an  extent,"  that  the  debt,  compared  with 
the  income,  is  really  now  less  than  half  as  great  as  it  was  twelve 
years  ago.  We  have  not  yet  alluded  to  the  gross  value  of  the 
whole  Corporation  estate,  excluding,  of  course,  churches, 
church-yards,  cemeteries,  St.  John's  Park,  and  church  mortgages. 
And  yet  this  question  of  the  value  of  the  productive  estate,  is, 
as  we  shall  soon  see,  the  most  important  of  all.  We  therefore 
ask  the  special  attention  of  the  reader  to  our  calculations. 

And  first  of  all,  we  agree  with,  the  principle  laid  down  by  the 
Committee,  and  which  we  have  taken  for  our  motto  :  That 
"  for  all  practical  purposes,  the  question  is,  What  is  the  present 
value  of  the  property  to  the  Corporation  ?  and  all  our  financial 
measures  should  be  controlled  by  it."  Before  we  estimate  the 
present  value,  however,  it  would  be  well  to  look  back  for  a  few 
years,  as  in  the  case  of  the  income  and  the  debt ;  for,  in  the 
affairs  of  a  historical  Corporation,  like  Trinity,  we  can  never 
be  sure  that  we  see  correctly  the  bearings  of  the  present,  until 
it  is  illumined  by  a  few  rays  of  light  from  the  instructive  past 

In  1847,  at  the  end  of  his  History  of  Trinity  Church,  Dr. 
Berrian  enumerates  and  thus  sums  up  the  gifts,  grants,  and 
donations  made  by  Trinity  : — 

The  aggregate  amount  of  the  gifts,  loans,  and  grants  of  Trinity  Church 
rating  the  lands  at  their  present  prices,  considerably  exceeds  TWO  MIL- 
LIONS OF  DOLLARS,  a  sum  more  than  equal,  in  the  opinion  of  com- 
petent judges,  to  two  thirds  of  the  value  of  the  estate  which  remains. 

The  rule  of  three  satisfies  us  that  if  two  thirds  'of  the  then 
remaining  estate  was  worth  two  millions  in  1817,  the  "actual 
value"  of  the  whole  of  it,  at  that  time,  was  necessarily  three 
millions.    And  that  was  twelve  years  ago. 

We  take  this,  therefore,  as  the  basis  of  our  calculations. 
And  when  we  see  that  the  Committee  now  set  down  the  net  pres- 
ent value  as  being  only  82,856,236,  we  do  not  wonder  at  their 


14 


alarm  and  agitation.  That  the  vast  estate  should  have  actual- 
ly depreciated  to  less  than  it  was  worth  twelve  years  ago, 
when  all  neighboring  property  has  gone  up  immensely,  and 
when  all  the  great  leases  are  so  much  nearer  their  termination, 
this  is,  indeed,  a  melancholy  fact! 

But  let  us  seek  consolation — where  we  have  found  it  before — 
in  a  closer  inspection  of  the  singular  mode  of  cyphering  al- 
ways employed  on  this  subject,  in  the  official  estimates  of 
Trinity  Corporation  ;  and  let  us  begin  with  the  most  striking 
instance  first. 

In  1856,  the  Report  of  the  Corporation  to  the  Senate  of  this 
State,  gave  the  following  summary  : — 

The  whole  productive  estate  of^  Trinity  Church  is  correctly  stated  as 
follows  : 

Real  estate   $1,446,371  71 

Bonds  and  mortgages   199,469  41 

Cash  in  bank   19,399  46 

$1,665,240  58 

Deducting  the  debt   648,913  00 

$1,016,327  58 

Astonishing  !  That  splendid  property,  worth  three  millions 
in  1847,  sunk  down  to  about  one  million  only  in  1856  !  And 
that,  too,  when  the  Committee  now  tell  us  that  $2,856,236  is 
"  scarcely  equal  to  the  smallest  amount"  which  will  enable  the 
parish  to  "provide  for  its  own  wants  !"  Surely  then,  if  even 
must  gaunt  and  greedy  ruin  have  stared  them  in  the  face  ! 

You  really  think  so  ?  Then  let  us  go  into  the  Senate  Com- 
mittee-room, in  that  same  year,  1858,  and  listen  to  Trinity's  own 
witnesses  explaining  the  matter  a  little  more  fully.  Mr.  Dix, 
the  Chairman  who  drew  the  Report  which  we  are  now  exam- 
ining, is  on  the  stand,  and  he  is  asked  : — 

Q.  Do  you  not  consider  that  the  estate  of  Trinity  Church  is  now  of 
much  greater  value  than  at  any  previous  period  ?  A.  That  question  I 
cannot  answer  ;  I  [am  not  a  member  of  the  Finance  Committee,  and, 
therefore,  am  not  acquainted  with  the  details  of  the  value  of  property. — 
2d  Report,  p.  119. 

So  careful  a  witness  was  not  willing  to  say  that  the  value 


15 


was  "much  greater  than  at  any  previous  period."  But  the 
question  is  afterwards  put  in  a  milder  form  : — 

Q.  From  what  you  know  of  the  value  of  real  estate  in  the  city  of  New- 
York,  would  you  not  think  that  the  property  of  Trinity  Church  is  increas- 
ing in  value  ?    A.I  have  no  doubt  it  is. — Ib.f  p.  120. 

Mr.  John  R.  Livingston  testifies  to  the  same  effect,  even 
more  strongly  than  Mr.  Dix  : — 

Q.  Is  not  the  real  estate  of  Trinity  Church  worth  more  now  than  at 
any  former  period  ?    A.I  think  it  is. — lb.,  p.  129. 

Mr.  Skidmore,  too,  who  had  been  a  member  of  the  Standing 
Committee  for  years,  and,  therefore,  knew  more  than  both  the 
others,  testifies  more  strongly  than  either  of  them  : — 

Q.  Is  the  estate  of  Trinity  Church  increasing  in  value  ?  A.I  think  it 
is  worth  more  now  than  at  any  former  period,  and  more  than  when  assessors1 
valuation  was  made. — lb.,  p.  70. 

We  now  see  clearly  the  peculiarity  of  the  system  of  cy- 
phering, to  which  we  have  alluded.  The  property,  as  these  gen- 
tlemen individually  confessed,  was  rising ;  was  then  worth 
more  than  at  any  former  period  ;  had  even  risen  in  value 
since  the  assessors'  valuation  was  made,  which  was  only  a  few 
months  previous.  And  yet  the  Corporation  collective,  when 
it  came  to  the  figures,  cut  it  down  to  only  one  third  of  what 
it  had  been  published  at  nine  years  before  !  This  art  of  cypher- 
ing, therefore,  we  must  remember,  is  a  peculiarity  which 
experience  proves  to  exist  in  this  case,  and  which  will 
explain  many  things  concerning  Trinity  Corporation,  otherwise 
inexplicable  ; — this  Financial  Report  among  the  number. 

In  arriving  at  the  value  of  the  bulk  of  the  corporate  estate, 
(apart  from  income),  we  must  base  our  operations  on  two 
items:  one  is  the  present  value  of  the  land  itself — supposing  it 
free  from  leases  ;  the  other  is  the  present  value  of  the  rever- 
sion of  property  encumbered  by  leases.  The  former  is  the 
basis  on  which  the  latter  is  calculated,  by  rules  familiar  to  all 
whose  attention  has  been  called  to  the  subject.  If  the  basis 
of  value  is  agreed  on,  the  result  is  as  simple  and  as  certain  as 
the  multiplication  table.  And  in  making  the  computations, 
we  have  used  precisely  the  same  tables  for  our  decimal  mul- 


16 


tipliers  that  were  used  in  making  similar  computations  for 
Trinity  herself  in  1856.  As  we  shall  begin  upon  a  basis  fur- 
nished by  Trinity,  and  to  which  therefore  she  cannot  object, 
we  will  first  look  to  the  value  of  the  reversions.  The  pro- 
priety of  a  change  in  the  basis  will  be  discussed  afterwards. 

PRESENT  VALUE  OF  THE  REVERSIONS. 

Before  proceeding  further,  however,  we  would  say  a  word 
to  the  ordinary  reader,  which  is  of  course  superfluous  to  all 
who  are  versed  in  real  estate  operations.  Property  under  a 
long  lease,  at  low  rent  or  no  rent  at  all,  is  of  course  worth 
much  less  to  the  owner,  than  if  there  was  no  such  lease  in 
existence  ;  and  the  depreciation  of  the  property  is  in  propor- 
tion to  the  length  of  time  the  lease  yet  has  to  run.  For  in- 
stance, Trinity  has  five  lots,  which  in  1856  were  under  a  lease 
which  then  had  55  years  and  4  months  yet  to  run.  That 
property,  at  that  time,  was  set  down  in  Trinity's  Report,  as 
being  worth,  if  there  were  no  lease  on  it,  $29,950.  But  be- 
cause the  lease  had  yet  over  55  years  to  run,  it  was  worth  to 
the  Corporation  only  $844  93.  Now,  supposing  the  value  of 
the  land  itself  to  remain  unchanged — every  succeeding  year, 
as  it  made  the  end  of  the  lease  nearer,  would  increase  the 
value  of  Trinity's  interest,  Thus  when  the  lease  should  have 
only  20  years  to  run,  that  value — which  is  the  value  of  the 
reversion — would  rise  to  the  sum  of  $7,739  08;  at  10  years, 
it  would  be  $15,223  58;  and  when  there  was  but  one  year 
more  to  run,  it  would  be  $27,988  27.  The  mere  lapse  of  time, 
therefore,  adds  every  year  to  the  11  present  value"  of  all  such 
property  under  lease.  And  this  addition,  moreover,  becomes 
greater  and  greater  with  each  succeeding  year,  so  that  the 
last  year  adds  more  than  the  one  before  the  last,  and  so  on. 
In  the  case  just  mentioned,  for  instance,  the  last  year  adds 
$1,961  73  to  the  value  of  the  property;  while  for  the  year 
before  that,  the  addition  was  only  $1,829  94.  Thus,  the  nearer 
a  long  lease  draws  toward  its  end,  the  greater  is  the  amount 
by  which  the  value  of  the  land  to  its  owner  rises,  by  the  mere 
lapse  of  time. 

Now,  nearly  the  whole  of  the  Trinity  estate  is  under  lease. 


17 


The  Astor  lease,  covering  336  lots,  (the  whole  aggregate  of 
which  pays  only  the  petty  sum  of  8269  a  year  rent — about  75 
cents  a  lot),  was  given  in  1767  for  99  years,  and  expires  in 
1866.  The  Lispenard  lease,  covering  81  lots,  given  originally 
for  83  years,  expires  in  1862.  The  mere  lapse  of  time,  there- 
fore, adds  greatty,  every  year,  to  the  "  present  value  "  of  these 
estates  to  Trinity.  They  are  worth  much  more  to  her  now 
than  they  were  last  year;  and  then  much  more  than  they  were 
the  year  before  ;  and  the  gain  next  year  will  be  much  more 
than  it  is  this  year. 

Nobody  understands  the  virtue  of  t  is  mode  of  computa- 
tion better  than  Trinity  herself.  On  the  1st  of  January,  185  , 
she  reported  her  property  as  being  worth,  provided  there  were 
no  leases  on  it,  $2,668,710.  But  because  of  the  leases  yet  to 
run,  she  computed  that  the  value  of  the  reversions  was,  on 
that  1st  of  January,  1856,  only  $1,446,371  71.  The  difference 
between  these  two  amounts  is  81,222,338  29,  the  whole  of  which 
the  Corporation  was  eventually  sure  to  gain,  provided  only  that 
the  world  lasted  long  enough  to  bring  those  leases  to  an  end, 
and  the  value  of  the  real  estate  did  not  fall  meanwhile  below 
what  it  was  taxed  at  in  1855.  Of  this  large  amount,  the  bulk 
of  the  Lispenard  lease  had  then  only  six  years  and  four  months 
to  run,  by  which  time  there  would  have  been  added  over  a 
hundred  thousand  dollars  to  its  then  "  present  value  "  in  1856  ; 
and  the  Astor  lease  had  ten  years  and  four  months  to  run,  at 
which  time  its  "  present  value  "  would  be  similarly  increased 
by  nearly  half  a  million.  All  the  rest — except  that  one  par- 
cel on  a  lease  for  55  years — would  fall  in  within  20  years  aud 
4  months,  a  portion  every  year. 

Now  we  have  been  at  the  trouble  of  cyphering  out  the  dif- 
ference, on  all  these  leases,  between  the  "  present  value  "  as 
given  on  the  1st  of  January,  1856,  and  the  really  " present 
value"  now — say  the  1st  of  May,  1859 — three  years  and  four 
months.  And  we  make  our  calculations,  as  we  have  already 
said,  upon  the  basis  of  the  value  of  the  estate,  as  assessed  in 
the  year  1855  for  city  taxation,  which  Trinity  reported  to  the 
Senate  in  1856.  We  have  grouped  and  tabularized  the  whole, 
so  that  the  eye  can  comprehend  it  at  a  glance. 

2 


18 


ASTOR  LEASE,  deduct- 
ing estimated  value 
of  buildings  from  the 
ASSESSED  VALUE  of 
lands  and  buildings. 

6  Peppercorn  leases,  now 
5  years  to  run  

459  Lots,  now  7  years  to 
run  

Present  value  of  rent. .  . 


LTSPENARD  LEASE — 
9  Lots  Peppercorn,  now  1 

year  to  run  

102  Lots,  now  3  years  to 

run  

Rent,  present  value .... 


OTHER  LEASES— 
53  Lots,  leases  expired  on 
or  before  May  1,  1859. . 
10  Lots,  now  1  yr.  to  run 


Lots, 
6  Lots, 
8  Lots, 

6  Lots, 
20  Lots, 
94  Lots, 
93  Lots, 
17  Lots, 

5  Lots, 
3  Lots, 
5  Lots, 
13  Lots, 
8  Lots, 

7  Lots, 
11  Lots, 

3  Lots, 
5  Lots, 


2  yrs.  to  run. 

3  " 

5  " 

6  " 

7  « 


10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
52 


Value  of 
Land, 
Jan. 1,1856. 


$14,100 

960,500 


$974,600 


24,350 
275,585 


$299,935 


305,950 
21,100 
17,450 
14,750 
18,700 
21,900 
46,200 

201,525 

158,750 
35,125 
9,700 
5,900 
33,150 

195,100 
42,200 
46,425 
78,700 
23,000 
29,950 


Value  of  Rever 
sion, 
Jan.  1, 1856. 


$7,946  14 

471,708  03 
2,085  13 


$481,739  30 


18,044  94 

179,830  28 
884  96 


$198,760  18 


281,645  93 
15,658  51 
12,088  63 

9,538  67 
11,289  18 
12,377  47 
24,683  56 
96,397  98 
76,860  66 
14,879  89 

3,908  02 

2,200  40 
11,384  96 
63,801  60 
12,635  83 
13,022  40 
20,807  54 

5,666  63 
844  98 


Astor  Lease,  increase,  as 
above  

Lispenard  Lease,  increase, 
as  above  


Value  of  -Rever 
sion, 
May  1, 1859. 


$10,051  89 

598,103  35 
1,449  69 


$609,604  93 


22,755  07 

224,932  47 
465  81 


$248,153  35 


19.717  95 
15,240  83 
12,038  95 
14,264  36 
15,612  51 
30,783  06 

125,489  61 
92,392  50 
19,104  48 
4,930  51 
2,802  50 

14.718  60 
80,946  99 
16,365  16 
16,824  42 
26,655  69 

7,279  50 
886  52 


Total  net  gain  in  value  during  3  years  4  months. 


In  a  very  few  cases  where  the  lease  was  for  an  odd  six  months  beyond  the  even 
year,  the  slight  excess  has  been  disregarded  for  ease  in  making  the  calculations. 
Almost  all  the  leases  run  from  the  1st  of  May. 


19 


With  the  exception  of  five  lots,  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
whole  immense  leasehold  estate,  as  it  now  stands,  falls  in  for 
sale  or  renewal  within  17  years  from  the  present  time  :* 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  mere  lapse  of  these  three 
years  and  four  months  since  January  1,  1856,  has  added  to 
the  value  of  the  reversions  of  Trinity  estate,  $309,571.  And 
this  is  calculated  on  the  basis  of  the  city  tax- book, — that  val- 
uation upon  which  Trinity  cyphered  down  her  whole  pro- 
ductive estate  to  a  trifle  over  $1,000,000. 

But  this  basis  was  too  ridiculously  low  to  stand.  Mr.  Ely's 
valuation  was  given  in  evidence  before  the  Senate  Commit- 
tee ;  and,  after  all  possible  ingenuity  exercised  in  magni- 
fying the  deductions  to  be  made  from  it,  the  total  productive 
estate  was  left  nearly  three  times  as  great  as  before.  Trinity 
complained  grievously  of  the  Senate  Committee  because  they 
deducted,  on  account  of  leases  yet  to  run,  only  the  identical 
amount  that,  the  Corporation  had  calculated  upon  a  basis  only 
one  third  as  large.  They  maintained — and  justly  too — that 
as  the  valuation  of  the  land  was  larger,  so  the  amount  to  be 
deducted  for  leases  yet  to  run  ought  also  to  be  larger,  in  strict 
proportion  to  the  change  of  basis.  On  Mr.  Ely's  valuation, 
therefore,  they  insisted  that  the  deduction  should  be  82,690,443, 
instead  of  $1,222,338.  All  this  is  perfectly  correct.  But  if 
the  amount  then  deducted  was  so  much  greater,  while  the 
time  in  which  the  leases  would  expire  still  remained  the  same, 
it  follows  that  the  annual  increase  in  the  value  of  the  reversions 
will  be  so  much  greater,  in  precisely  the  proportion  then  in- 
sisted on  by  Trinity  herself.  Moreover,  to  prove  the  right- 
eousness of  this  change  of  basis,  we  find  that  in  this  financial 
Report  the  old  valuation  of  the  city  assessor  has  apparently  been 
allowed  to  go  into  oblivion  ;  while  Mr.  Ely's  valuation — though 
with  evident  reluctance — is  u  assumed  to  be  just,"  and  is  actu- 
ally made  the  basis  of  all  the  computations  of  the  Committee. 
We  must  therefore  make  it  our  basis  also  :  and  as  the 
amount  to  be  deducted  in  1856  was  m ore  than  doubled  by  this 
operation,  so  now  the  amount  by  which  the  value  of  the 


*  Except  of  course  such  few  lots  as  may  have  been  re-let  for  longer  terms,  since  Jan. 
1,  1856,  of  which  we  know  nothing. 


20 

reversions  has  increased  during  this  three  years  and  four 
months,  is  also  more  than  doubled,  rising  from  $309,571  to 
$708,298.  The  Corporation  therefore,  by  the  mere  lapse  of  time 
since  January  1,  1856,  is  now  more  than  seven  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars  richer  than  it  was  when  its  Report  to  the  Senate 
was  made. 

This  being  the  case,  let  us  look  once  more  at  the  peculiar 
mode  of  cyphering  employed  by  this  Committee  in  behalf  of 
the  Corporation.  In  reckoning  the  debts  and  deficits,  they 
calculate  ahead,  as  far  as  1862,  accumulating  deficits,  and  in- 
terest on  interest,  to  swell  the  amount  of  debt.  When  esti- 
mating the  value  of  the  whole  property,  however,  a  very  differ- 
ent course  is  pursued.  The  correct  principle  is  indeed  laid 
down,  that  the  "  present  value"  is  the  onl  y  thing  to  control 
their  action  ;  but  then,  at  once,  with  a  practical  Hibernianism 
which  is  really  amusing,  their  present  value  turns  out  to  be 
really  the  value  three  years  and  four  months  ago  !  It  is  quietly 
taken,  as  a  matter  of  course,  without  adding  a  dollar.  And 
of  the  vast  gain  of  more  than  seven  hundred  thousand  dollars  in 
the  value  of  that  estate  by  this  mere  difference  of  time,  the 
Committee  lisp  not  a  syllable  ! 

PRESENT    VALUE   OF   THE  LAND. 

In  all  the  successive  steps  of  our  investigation  thus  far,  we 
have  proceeded  independently  of  any  rise  in  the  value  of  the 
land  itself,  and  all  our  conclusions  hold  good  even  if  Mr.  Ely's 
estimate  in  185G  be  the  highest  that  it  is  worth  now,  or  the 
highest  that  it  will  be  worth  when  it  comes  into  the  market 
at  any  time  within  seventeen  years  fiom  now.  It  follows,  of 
course,  that  whatever  rise  in  the  value  of  the  land  has  taken 
place,  or  may  take  place,  is  to  be  reckoned  as  so  much  clear 
gain  over  and  above  the  large  sums  we  have  dealt  with  already. 
Here,  indeei,  there  is  something  of  uncertainty,  and  opinion 
is  an  element  in  reaching  any  result ;  whereas  in  regard  to 
income  and  debt  and  the  value  of  reversions,  we  have  dealt 
only  with  arithmetical  certainties. 

That  a  rise  in  property  has  taken  place,  or  was  probable,  no 
one  would  suspect  from  the  Report  of  this  Committee.  It 


21 


more  than  once  insists  that  Mr.  Ely's  valuation,  at  the  time  it 
was  made,  was  too  high ;  and  in  the  changes  of  the  value  of 
property,  all  thej  seem  to  anticipate  is  a  fall: — 

The  future  appreciation  is  altogether  a  matter  of  speculation.  Experi- 
ence has  shown  that  a  change  in  the  currents  of  business  or  fashion  may 
reduce  the  productive  value  of  property  fifty  per  cent,  in  a  very  short 
period  of  time  ;  and  in  regard  to  the  expected  advance,  a  slight  variation 
in  the  direction  these  currents  may  take,  would  produce  serious  disap- 
pointment and  embarrassment. —  P.  12. 

And,  again,  the  same  depreciating  picture  of  the  future  is 
drawn  in  still  more  gloomy  colors  :— 

The  question.  What  will  be  the  value  of  this  property  when  the  Corpora- 
tion shall  obtain  the  absolute  control  of  it  1  would  be  a  very  unsafe  guide 
for  present  action.  Besides,  considering  the  different  periods  at  which 
different  portions  become  available,  the  varying  conditions  of  the  tenures 
under  which  possession  is  now  held,  and  the  perpetual  changes  in  the  value 
of  property  in  particular  districts  in  the  city  of  New- York,  the  Committee 
do  not  believe  that  any  reliable  estimate  can  be  made.  It  cannot  be  fore- 
seen how  soon  the  wealthy  portions  of  the  population  of  the  city  will  forsake 
their  present  residences  for  the  greater  attractions  offered  by  the  Central 
Park,  and  the  elevated  and  picturesque  districts  of  the  upper  part  of  the 
island.  It  is  equally  uncertain,  whether  the  dry-goods  business — that  which 
has  always  paid  the  highest  rents — will  continue  to  follow  the  present  line 
of  progress  ;  or  whether,  under  the  influence  of  some  new  caprice,  it  may 
not  shoot  off  into  other  parts  of  the  city,  and  subject  the  owners  of  real 
estate  in  its  present  haunts  to  the  most  calamitous  losses.  In  the  latter 
case,  Trinity  Church  would  be  a  severe  sufferer  ;  it  might  find  the  most 
moderate  estimates  of  the  value  of  its  property  exaggerated  ;  and  it  might 
even  be  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  curtailing  its  religious  ministrations 
and  its  contributions  to  the  support  of  the  poor  in  the  lower  part  of  the  city. 
—Pp.  13,  14. 

The  unsophisticated  reader  would  suppose  from  this,  that 
there  was  some  probability,  at  least,  that  the  property  of 
Trinity  Church  would  fall ;  that  the  capricious  dry-goods  busi- 
ness, instead  of  pressing  steadily  and  rapidly  toward  Canal-. 
street,  which  runs  through  the  heart  of  the  great  Trinity  estate, 
would  shoot  off  toward  Corlear's  Hook,  or  at  least  to  the  east 
side  of  Broadway,  where  Trinity  does  not  own  a  foot.  One 
would  suppose,  too,  that  a  large  portion  of  the  estate  lay  in 
Pearl-street,  and  the  adjacent  parts,  where  the  rents  havefalleu 


I 


22 

so  severely  ;  instead  of  which,  Trinity  owns  no  land  there,  any 
more  than  at  Corlear's  Hook.  Her  property — nearly  every 
portion  of  it — is  so  situated,  as  to  have  either  reaped  already 
the  full  measure  of  the  past  rise,  or  else  is  so  far  in  the  direct 
line  of  its  inevitable  appreciation,  that  each  lot  of  the  more 
than  700  that  remain,  must  feel  the  .benefit.  Tn  Greenwich- 
street,  she  owns  only  one  lot  at  all  low  down,  No.  109.  She 
owns,  however,  from  Nos.  273  to  281,  and  then  from  368  more 
or  less  up  to  No.  677.  She  owns  but  three  lots  on  Broadway, 
Nos.  251,  252,  and  256.  She  has  lots  in  Fulton,  Vesey,  Bar- 
clay, Murray,  Warren,  Chambers,  Reade,  Canal,  Harison, 
Watts,  Grand,  Sullivan,  Broome,  Clark,  Renwick,  Spring, 
Dominick,  Laight,  Varick,  Hudson,  Washington,  Morton, 
Hamersley,  Barrow,  Clarkson,  Leroy,  Commerce,  Grove,  and 
Christopher  streets.  The  Lispenard  lease  is  in  Canal,  Des- 
brosses,  Vestry,  Hudson,  Greenwich,  and  Watts  streets.  The 
Astor  lease  is  in  Spring,  Vandam,  Charlton,  King,  Hamers- 
ley, Varick,  Hudson,  and  Greenwich  streets.  Of  all  this  vast 
property — in  many  of  these  streets  extending  block  after  block 
unbroken — all  in  and  below  Canal  has  already  risen,  some  of 
it  decidedly,  and  all  above  has  stiffened  in  price  very  percep- 
tibly ;  the  more  so,  as  it  is  near  Canal  and  Hudson  streets. 

We  are  giving  no  mere  opinion.  We  give  below  such  par- 
ticulars as  we  have  been  able  to  gb;an,  by  a  search  in  the 
Record  Office,  of  actual  sales,  from  about  the  time  Mr.  Ely's 
valuation  was  made,  and  since,  of  lots  belonging  to  the  Trinity 
estate,  and  then  appraised  by  him.  This  will  enable  us  to 
make  a  correct  and  indisputable  comparison  as  to  whether  Mr. 
Ely's  valuation  was  really  too  high  or  too  low  ;  or  whether 
property  has  risen  or  fallen  since  then.  Such  sales  are  not 
opinions  nor  estimates,  but  facts.  Land  is  worth  what  it  will 
fetch  :  sales  prove  what  it  does  fetch,  and,  therefore,  what  it  is 
worth. 

In  making  out  the  following  table,  where  it  appeared  that  a 
lot  had  been  bought  while  yet  under  lease,  wTe  have  first  de- 
ducted from  the  price  paid,  the  then  present  value  of  thft  rents 
(where  amounting  to  an  appreciable  quantity)  for  the  rest  of 
the  term.  The  remainder  of  the  purchase  money  we  have 
reckoned  as  the  value  of  the  reversion  only — that  being  ali  else 


23 


that  Trinity  had  to  sell.  And  according  to  the  length  of  the 
time  the  lease  had  to  run,  we  have  calculated  what  was  the  net 
value  of  the  land  free  of  all  lease  or  incumbrance.  We  have 
also  included  in  the  list,  No.  251  Broadway,  for  the  purpose 
of  comparison  only,  for  it  was  not  sold.  While  yet  under  lease 
at  a  nominal  rent,  with  16  years  to  run,  the  Corporation  re- 
fused an  offer  of  $40,000,  for  the  reversion.  They  preferred 
accepting  a  bonus  of  $10,000,  for  a  covenant  that  they  would 
renew  the  lease  at  the  expiration  of  the  sixteen  years.  W  e 
do  not  suppose  that  the  $40,000  was  refused  because  it  was 
too  large  a  price ;  nor  can  it  be  unfair  to  the  Corporation  to 
regard  the  amount  of  which  that  sum  represents  the  present 
value  for  the  term  specified  ($124,400)  as  being,  confessedly, 
not  too  much  in  their  estimation. 


Sales  at  various  times  since  about  January  1, 1856. 


251  Broadway,  reversion  at  end  of  16  years  4  mos. 

$40,000  refused,  =   $120,736 

525  Greenwich-street   6,000 

10  Hubert-street   10,450 

89  Reade-street   15,000 

285  Hudson-street,  $10,000,  reversion,    10  years  4 

months  to  run,  (minus  rents),  =   17,130 

275  Greenwich-street   20,000 

283  Hudson-street,  $10,000,  reversion   10  years  4 

months  to  run  (minus  rents),  =   17,130 

279  Spring  street  '  7,000 

387  and  389  Greenwich-street   20,000 

Nos.  8,  22,  23,  57,  59,  15,  and  17  Vandam-street. . .  A 

Nos.  21  and  43  Charlton-street,  and  

Nos.  44,  58,  62,  30,  36,  40,  28,  and  56  King-street—  \  94,069 
in  all  seventeen  lots,  sold  to  Mr.  William  B.  j 
Astor,  reversion  7  years  88  days,  $52,039,  =  J 
80  Morton-st.,  $4,000,  reversion,  10  years  6  months 

(minus  rents),  =  . .  .  ,   6,068 

78  Morton-street,  $4,500,  reversion,  14  years,  (minus 

rents),  =   8,195 

34  Vestry-street   6,330 


$348,108 


Here  then,  we  have  the  facts  concerning  the  actual  sales  (ex- 
cept 251  Broadway)  of  thirty  lots,  four  of  which  came  up  for 
discussion  before  the  Senate  Committee.     As  the  Rep 
which  we  are  now  examining  mentions  that  twenty-six  have 
since  been  sold,  we  suppose  that  we  have  succeeded,  above, 


24 


in  giving  a  complete  list  of  all  the  actual  sales  made  since  Mr. 
Ely's  valuation.  The  position  of  the  lots  thus  sold,  is  very 
varied,  too,  some  being  below  Canal-street,  and  some  above  ; 
some  as  low  down  as  Murray-street,  and  some  as  high  up  as 
Greenwich  village,  thus  giving  pretty  fair  samples  of  all  parts 
of  the  estate.  In  only  one  case  has  the  price  of  sale  fallen 
below  Mr.  Ely's  valuation,  and  that  was  in  Keade-street,  prob- 
ably owing  to  the  yet  unsettled  state  of  that  street,  and  its  en- 
largement. On  the  whole,  the  price  realized  by  the  Church 
has  been  877,158,  or  nearly  thirty  per  cent,  higher  than  Mr. 
Ely's  valuation,  which,  nevertheless,  as  the  Committee  tell  us, 
"  the  Vestry  have  always  insisted  was  an  over-estimate  of  the 
value  of  the  property  at  the  time  it  was  made;"  using,  doubt- 
less, the  peculiar  mode  of  cyphering,  which  we  have  met  with 
before.  Now,  if  we  carry  the  same  per  centage  through  the 
whole  Corporation  estate  (deducting  the  lots  since  sold)  we 
shall  find  the  total  appreciation  in  the  mere  value  of  the  land 
itself 'to  be  no  less  than  $1,729,714  60,  nearly  a  million  and 
three  quarters  of  dollars.  This,  added  to  the  gain  in  the  value 
of  the  reversions,  (which,  by  the  way,  to  be  accurate,  ought  to 
get  the  benefit  of  the  thirty  per  cent,  too),  gives  us  $2,438,013, 
as  the  total  appreciation  of  the  Trinity  Estate,  since  the  valua- 
tion of  January  ],  1856,  independent  of  any  increase  of  income. 
Truly,  "  the  pecuniary  affairs  of  the  Corporation  are  in  imminent 
peril" 

THE   TWO   GREAT  LEASES. 

The  whole  of  this  Report  seems  to  us  to  have  been  drawn  up 
for  the  purpose  of  preparing  the  public  mind  to  expect  nothing 
from  the  falling  in  of  the  two  great  leases,  which,  it  has  been 
thought,  would  add  so  immensely  to  the  disposable  wealth  of 
Trinity,  and  open  up  a  new  era  of  more  magnificent  liberality 
on  her  part  than  ever  before.  And  the  object  is  accomplished 
by  making  the  debt  devour  the  whole  Lispenard  lease,  and  still 
ask  for  "  more;  "  and  by  carefully  keeping  the  vastly  greater 
Astor  lease  altogether  out  of  sight.  The  former  falls  in,  a  por- 
tion next  year,  and  the  rest  three  years  hence,  in  1862  ;  and  if 
we  nre  to  believe  the  Report,  u  is,  in  effect,  already  consumed  by 


25 


debt,"  and  $100,000  in  addition  ;  so  that  none  of  the  impor- 
tunate outsiders  must  look  to  pick  up  a  single  crumb  of  com- 
fort from  the  breaking  of  th  t  great  loaf.  In  regard  to  the 
Astor  lease,  a  mysterious  caution  is  shown,  which  one  would 
hardly  call  candor,  unless  one  could  lawfully  use  figures  of 
speech  in  the  same  peculiar  manner  that  Trinity  uses  the  figures 
of  arithmelic.  In  enumerating  the  additions  soon  to  be  made  to 
the  income,  they  are  kind  enough  to  tell  us  that,  besides 
the  Lispenard  proper^,  a  number  of  other  lots  will  fall  in, 
for  sale  or  renewal,  between  1861  and  1866 — this  last  year 
being  the  date  when  the  Astor  lease  will  fall  in,  besides,  with 
336  lots  more.  Yet  the  instant  they  mention  that  magical 
year,  they  at  once — change  the  subject : — 

But  the  Committee  have  not  thought  it  advisable  to  pursue  this  estimate 
of  increased  income  beyond  the  next  three  years,  considering  the  unsettled 
condition  of  business,  the  depression  in  real  estate  [only  thirty  per  cent, 
advance,]  and  the  uncertainty  which  attends  the  value  of  property  in  differ- 
ent districts,  &c. — P.  20. 

This  sudden  shying,  as  soon  as  they  come  within  touching 
distance  of  the  falling  in  of  the  Astor  lease,  is  a  singular  proof 
of  conscious  nervousness  on  the  part  of  the  Committee.  Do 
they  not  think  that,  with  their  peculiar  kind  of  arithmetic  they 
could  prove  that  the  falling  in  of  that  property  only  seven  years 
hence,  will  make  their  present  "perilous"  condition,  one  of  ab- 
solute bankruptcy  ? 

CONSUMPTION. 

Much  is  said,  in  the  Report,  of  the  fatal  results  of  "  consum- 
ing the  estate,"  to  meet  annual  deficits  ;  that  is,  selling  a  lot 
or  two,  now  and  then,  and  spending  the  money.  The  princi- 
ple is  correct  enough,  and  its  application  is  very  plausible. 
But  when  the  amount  thus  consumed  in  three  years  and  four 
months  is  only  some  $160,000,  while  the  appreciation  of  the 
rest  of  the  estate  in  the  same  time  is  over  $2,400,000,  it  does  ^ot 
appear  that  that  kind  and  degree  of  "  consumption"  is  neces- 
sarily fatal  at  all.  Indeed,  the  enormous  amount  of  $130,000, 
the  total  of  all  the  unanswered  "  applications  for  aid,"  might 
have  been  granted  too,  and  both  together  have  been  but  little 
in  comparison. 


26 


THE  TRUE  POSITION. 

The  true  position  of  the  finances  of  Trinity  Corporation  is 
simply  this  : — 

Since  the  year  1856,  when  Mr.  Dix,  Mr.  Skidmore  (mem- 
bers of  this  Committee,)  and  others  of  the  Vestry,  testified  that 
Trinity  was  richer  than  ever  she  had  been  before,  and  her 
property  still  rising — from  that  year,  we  say,  to  the  present 
time,  the  yearly  income  has  gained  about  $30,000.  The 
Committee  anticipate  nearly  $9,000  a  year  more  before  1862, 
and  it  is  a  small  estimate.  The  Lispenard  lease  will  then  fall 
in,  which,  if  it  then  appreciates  only  so  much  over  Mr.  Ely's 
estimate  as  the  other  lots  (which  rose  only  thirty  per  cent , 
owing  to  the  "  depression  in  real  estate,")  will  be  worth 
$826,689.  If  leased  at  the  usual  five  per  cent.,  this  will  add 
over  $41,000  a  year  to  the  revenue.  Thirty-nine  other  lots 
fall  in  before  1866,  which  will  add  something  or  other,  say  only 
$14,000  ;  and  in  1866,  the  Astor  lease,  on  a  moderate  calcula- 
tion, will  add  8100,000  a  year  besides.  A  safe  and  moderate 
estimate  will  therefore  make  the  income,  in  1866,  some 
$290,000  a  year. 

The  gross  estate,  since  January  1,  1856,  has  gained  in  the 
value  of  reversions,  by  mere  lapse  of  time,  $708,298  ;  besides 
a  general  appreciation  of  the  property,  over  Mr.  Ely's  valua- 
tion, as  proved  by  actual  sales — $1,729,714.  The  estimated 
further  rise  before  1866,  we  say  nothing  about.  It  is  what  the 
Committee  call'"  purely  speculative."  All  we  need  remark  is, 
that,  notwithstanding  the  gloomy  forebodings  of  the  Commit- 
tee, every  reasonable  prospect  indicates  a  rise  ;  and  in  some 
parts,  at  least,  a  very  great  rise. 

Against  these  vast  sums,  there  is  to  be  placed  only  the  debt, 
which,  with  the  proper  deductions,  as  we  have  shown,  amounts 
to  but  a  trifle  over  $440,000— the  exact  sum  at  which  it  stood 
twelve  years  ago.  And  also  the  annual  deficits,  which  can  be 
met  by  the  "consumption,"  without  any  appreciable  injury  to 
the  general  constitution — at  least  for  two  or  three  years 
longer. 


27 


This  is  THE  TRUTH,  as  established  partly  by  the  statis- 
tics furnished  by  the  Committee  themselves;  partly  by  the 
rules  of  arithmetic,  which  are  as  certain  as  that  two  and  two 
make  four ;  partly  by  the  actual  sales,  as  proved  by  a  search 
in  the  Hall  of  Records ;  and  with  no  "estimate"  which  is  not 
thus  based  upon  impregnable  facts.  And  yet  we  find  a  Commit- 
tee placing  their  names  to  a  Report,  which  is  read  and  delib- 
erately approved  and  adopted  by  the  whole  Vestry,  and  ordered 
to  be  printed  and  circulated  gratuitously  for  the  information  of 
the  public — the  first  time  Trinity  ever  made  any  such  voluntary 
communication  to  the  public — a  Report  which  begins  with 
the  irresistible  implication,  in  its  very  first  sentence,  that  it 
will  enable  the  reader  "to  comprehend  the  condition  and  man- 
agement of  the  finances  of  the  Corporation  in  their  fullest  extent ;" 
and  then,  notwithstanding  the  substantial  enrichment  of  the 
Corporation,  to  the  amount  of  over  $2,400,000  during  the  past 
three  }^ears  and  four  months,  that  Report  straightway  goes  on 
to  declare, that  "its  means  have  become  greatly  impaired,"  and 
il  its  liabilities  increased  to  an  alarming  extent ;" — that  the  pres- 
ent rate  of  "  consumption  of  the  estate"  is, in  the  highest  degree, 
alarming,''  and  must  necessarily  be  "  very  short,"  "  no  matter 
how  large  the  resources  to  which  it  is  applied."  It  suggests 
that  its  great  estate  is  falling  in  value,  and  that  Mr.  Ely's  esti- 
mate of  it  was  too  high,  whereas  the  sum  of  all  their  own 
sales,  at  the  time  and  since,  has  been  thirty  per  cent,  higher;  that 
there  is  an  anxiety  to  pay  the  debt  promptly,  wThereas  it  might 
be  reduced  at  once  by  the  amount  of  6207,000,  did  they  but 
choose  to  apply  the  bonds  and  mortgages  for  that  purpose ; 
that  the  "enormous  debt"  is  greater  than  at  any  former  time, 
while  really,  in  comparison  with  either  income  or  property,  it 
is  much  smaller,  and  in  net.  amount  is  just  the  same  that  it  was 
twelve  years  ago  ;  that  the  present  value  of  the  reversions  is 
only  what  it  was  in  January,  1856,  and  that  this  is  the  "fair 
value,"  thus  reckoning  "  the  present  net  value"  of  the  whole 
property  to  be  less  than  it  was  twelve  years  ago ;  and  that, 
as  a  consequence  from  all  this,  "  the  pecuniary  affairs  of  the 
Corporation  are  in  imminent  peril." 

These  extraordinary  representations  as  to   the  increasing 


28 


poverty  of  the  Corporation  are,  furthermore,  backed  up  by 
recommending  the  Vestry  to  make  no  new  grants  or  dona- 
tions, and  to  discontinue,  as  far  as  possible,  those  made  hereto- 
fore;  by  the  declaration  that  this  course  is,  "in  truth,  not  a 
matter  of  choice,"  but  of  "  absolute  necessity,"  for  want  of 
"  the  means;"  that  property  could  nDt  now  be  sold,  even  if  dis- 
encumbered of  leases,  "  without  the  most  ruinous  sacrifices  ;" 
that  the  Corporation  "  has  not  the  means  of  paying  its  own 
expenses ;"  that  the  applications  for  aid  now  before  the  Vestry 
are  of"  hopeless"  amount ;  and  that  "  the  most  disastrous  con- 
sequences" are  impending,  without  "  a  prompt  and  radical 
change."  And  all  this  is  further  corroborated  by  the  astonish- 
ing poverty  in  practice,  of  suffering  Trinity  Chapel  to  be,  since 
1854,  without  proper  buildings  for  Sunday  and  Parish  Schools  ; 
and  old  St.  George's  in  Beekman-street,  has  had  the  pledge  of 
similar  buildings  since  1851 — a  pledge  published  to  the  world 
in  1856,  and  to  this  day  unredeemed  by  laying  the  first  stone  ; 
and  worst  of  all  the  Parish  Church  itself,  at  the  head  of  Wall- 
street,  has,  for  years  and  years,  been  importuning  the  Vestry 
for  similar  accommodations  for  Sunday  and  Parish  Schools, 
but  the  Corporation  is  still  too  poor  to  afford  the  expense ! 
"These  urgent  wants  of  our  own  parish,"  say  the  Committee, 
"  have,  from  time  to  time,  been  reluctantly  postponed  in  conse- 
quence of  the  depressed  condition  o£  the  finances  of  the  Corpora- 
tion." 

And  what  is  the  crisis  selected  for  the  announcement  and 
enforcement  of  a  sudden  and  radical  "  change  of  policy"  for 
the  worse  ?  It  is  at  a  time  when  the  flood-gates  of  her  own 
wealth  are  about  to  be  opened  more  widely  than  ever,  so  that 
one  is  almost  afraid  to  utter  the  amount  that  reason  declares 
to  be  moderate  ;  and  when,  on  the  other  hand,  no  less  than 
ten  of  the  up-town  parishes  are  engaged,  each  in  separate  and 
independent  mission  work  of  its  own,  so  that  the  sight  of  their 
zeal  and  success,  if  it  cannot  melt  and  kindle,  one  might  think 
would  at  least  sting  the  Mother  Corporation  into  fresh  activity, 
rather  than  freeze  her  into  the  stoppage  of  all  her  friendly 
streams. 

We  know  that  the  charge  we  bring  against  this  Committee 


29 


in  regard  to  their  Report,  is  severe.  But  we  have  proved  it. 
That  proof  is  so  clear  and  so  damaging,  that  if  they  suffer  it 
to  remain  unanswered,  it  can  only  be  because  it  is  unanswera- 
ble. If  they,  or  any  one  of  them,  reply,  we  shall  give  due  at- 
tention to  that  reply,  cheerfully  promising  that,  if  convinced 
of  error  in  any  respect,  we  shall  gladly  acknowledge  it,  and 
make  the  amende  as  publicly  as  we  make  the  charge. 

The  labor  of  examining  their  work  has  not  been  agreeable, 
but  most  emphatically  the  contrary,  and  that  for  many 
reasons.  But  the  importance  of  the  position  and  work  of 
Trinity  Corporation  in  this  city  and  diocese,  is  too  great  to 
permit  the  general  mind  of  the  Church  to  be  blinded  by  a 
report  which  obscures  or  confuses  every  main  topic  which  it 
professes  to  explain  ;  or  suffer  such  misrepresentation  to  dry 
up  the  sources  of  supply  for  Church  needs,  without  at  least  one 
voice  of  bold  and  honest  remonstrance.  The  times  are 
propitious  for  the  unprecedented  growth  of  the  Church,  in 
every  direction.  In  the  increase  of  vitality  in  Trinity  Parish 
itself,  which  has  been  so  abundantly  and  increasingly  mani- 
fested since  the  year  1854  in  every  part  of  the  parish,  and  in  all 
the  many  and  varied  good  works  begun  and  carried  on  in  it,  the 
whole  Church  has  rejoiced  greatly,  and  has  learned  to  expect  bet- 
ter things  from  the  Corporation— a  very  different  thing  from  the 
Parish — than  "shutting  down  the  gates"  and  pleading  "pover- 
ty," just  on  the  threshhold  of  new  magazines  of  treasure.  If 
that  growth  should  wilt  and  fade,  it  would  not  be  our  fault ; 
for  we  have  done  our  best  to  stimulate  it  from  the  first.  But 
if  the  work  thus  begun  is  only  prosecuted  and  extended, — if 
Trinity  will  only  lead  the  way  with  wisdom  and  energy,  and 
a  liberality  nobly  keeping  pace  with  increased  wealth,  instead 
of  so  miserably  lagging  behind  :  she  will  soon  rise  once  more 
to  her  old  throne  and  citadel  in  the  hearts  of  all  sound  and 
zealous  Churchmen,  not  only  in  this  Diocese,  but  throughout 
the  land. 

April  14,  1859. 


